A Father's Love
by panskiss123
Summary: Peeta's first Father's Day. Just a short and sweet one shot!


I creep down the hall as quietly as I can. My wife says I can't "creep" since I have the loudest footsteps she's ever heard. Then again, she grew up in the woods; my huntress is naturally quiet. I reach a creaky floorboard and I wince. But she has to be asleep… after nearly twenty seven hours in labor, I hope she's sleeping.

I continue my path and turn into our bedroom. The crib is set up against the wall, right beside our bed. I slow my steps to ensure they are quiet. I don't want to wake either one of my miracles.

I stop at the edge of the cradle and take a breath. It takes me a moment to convince myself that this isn't a dream. That the tiny being in that cradle is real.

And she's mine.

I peer over the edge and glance into the crib. She's sleeping soundly, one of her hands tucked under her chin just like her mama does. I silently count ten fingers and ten toes. I catalogue each and every precious detail. She's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and I was just in here not even twenty minutes ago.

My daughter twitches in her sleep and her little eyes scrunch. I resist the temptation to swoop her up and chase away whatever bad thoughts are invading her mind. I asked my mother in law if babies dream but she doesn't think so. Since her mother and I have suffered from nightmares for so long, I find myself hoping my little girl doesn't have dreams at least for a few years.

She stills and smacks her lips, turning her face toward me. I swear the little tuft of hair on her head has grown darker since the last time I was in here. And… was she that big? Surely not.

"You can hold her, you know," a sleepy voice startles me. I turn to see my wife propped against the headboard, her eyes half open and a lazy smile on her face.

"I just wanted to check on her," I whisper.

"Peeta you have been in here checking on her ten times in the past hour."

"You were supposed to be sleeping," I scold her gently.

"How can I, with you stomping up and down the halls the whole time?"

"I don't-" but I stop when I see her smile widen. There was a time when I dreamed of seeing that smile, and even more, causing that smile.

"Can I get you anything?" I move closer to the bed, reaching for her hand. After all of the expletives she screamed at me earlier, I'm not sure if she wants me to touch her. But she cradles my hand and pulls it to her cheek so that I have to move closer.

"How's your hand?"

"Your mom fixed it up, no problem," I shrug.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't even break it, it was just bruised. You think you're that much stronger than me?" She laughs and lowers her hand to her lap but I keep my palm on her cheek.

"You are, Katniss," I sit on the edge of the bed and lean in close. "You've got to be the strongest person I've ever known."

"You know that's not true."

"Everything we have been through, and everything you have conquered has made you stronger. I thought I was already in love with you, Katniss, but watching you last night… I can't describe what I feel for you. It goes beyond love. I'm not sure if there are words to describe it." She smiles and my heart starts to race. She pulls my hand to her lips and leaves soft kisses over my sore knuckles. The feeling of her hand clenching mine as she screamed out in pain is overshadowed by another memory. As she holds my hand before her face, she seems to have the same thought.

There is a small white scar on my hand, barely noticeable but she rests her cheek against that scar and kisses it over and over.

"I don't know if I ever thanked you for saving me."

"I wasn't about to let you get away from me again," I say softly, my eyes locking with hers. That day seems like an entirely different lifetime now but even as the poison flowed through my veins, causing me to hate the one thing I loved most, I couldn't bear to be in a world without her. When I saw her raising her arm, I knew what she was planning to do. I ran to her and clamped my hand over the nightlock pill. As my own blood ran down my hand, she snarled at me to let her go but I couldn't. I could never let her go. Even when everyone was telling me I needed to let her go before I drove myself mad. Well that's ironic, I think with a bitter chuckle.

She shifts and winces, which draws me back to the present.

"What can I get for you?"

"Nothing, I'm just sore. I'll be ok," she adds reassuringly. I bite my lip, hating to see her in pain. Those twenty seven hours were excruciating, reminding me of the jabberjays in the arena; I had no way of helping her and had to watch her endure the pain without knowing what to do.

"Do you want something to eat? I can bake you cheesebuns."

"Tempting but no, thank you. Mom said my appetite would be a little weird at first."

"Doesn't mean you don't need to eat. How about-" I break off with a gasp at the sound of a shrill cry. It's something I never thought I would hear in this house but I know it's going to be the norm for a long time.

"She might be hungry. Will you bring her over here?" I jump off the bed, perhaps too eagerly, and rush over to the crib. I scoop her up in my arms and carry her as if she's made of glass.

"Cradle her head, like this," she moves my hand under our daughter's head and presses her to my chest. It's ironic that Katniss, the woman who swore to never have children, is showing me how to cradle a baby. I've wanted kids since I was one. I dreamed of little dark-haired children with her Seam grey eyes. It took me almost fifteen years, but I finally convinced Katniss that we deserve to be parents.

Ironically, at the end of her pregnancy, I was more terrified than she was. I spent the first 8 months convincing her she would be an amazing mother and our child would be so lucky and loved. But I didn't exactly come from a happy home. My father was good to us but he was too soft-spoken and too much of a pushover, allowing Mom to run the household and hit us when she was displeased… which seemed to be all the time. I lost my entire family in the war when I was just a teenager… how could I possibly raise a family of my own? I wasn't sure I knew how to love a child. But Katniss squashed my fears, telling me I was the most loving person she had ever known. She told me she had dreamed of a future where my children could be safe and happy and after she lost me to the Capitol, those dream children became hers as well. I hold my little girl to my chest and her cries cease, becoming little hiccups that shake her entire body.

"Oh good, maybe she will go back to sleep a little while longer," my wife sighs, leaning against the pillows.

"Go to sleep, my little Willow Ray. My sweet ray of sunshine, you're safe in my arms." I rock her back and forth until I notice Katniss watching me with a smile.

"What?"

"I knew you would be perfect at this." Willow blinks up at me with sleepy blue eyes. I feel tears well up in mine and I blink them away.

"I'm your daddy, Willow. I won't promise that I'll never mess up or that I'll be a perfect one. You might see some things that scare you, or you may hear Daddy say some things that he doesn't mean. Mommy and I will tell you about it when you're older. But just know that I will always keep you safe, no matter what, and I will never let anyone hurt you. I already love you more than life itself. I loved you before you were even in Mommy's womb. I will love you until my last breath and then I will continue to you from wherever I spend eternity watching over you. You are my miracle, Willow Ray Mellark." I glance over at Katniss and see she has closed her eyes. I move to the side so I can hold both of my girls.

"Will you sing to us, Katniss?" She never hesitates to sing for me anymore, knowing how her voice brings me peace.

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow…"

I close my eyes and hold them both close. Willow presses her tiny palm to my heart and I kiss Katniss's forehead.

"...here is the place where I love you," she finishes the song and yawns.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"Happy Father's Day, Peeta," she whispers as she falls asleep. Willow adjusts her head and snores softly. My heart swells as I watch my family sleep.

I look forward to a lifetime of days like this. Father's Day may only come once a year but snuggled in with my family, I know this will be the norm from now on.

END

* * *

 _ **I don' have much of a relationship with my dad but imagine Peeta to be the perfect one. So I wanted to give him a wonderful first Father's Day. Wishing all the heroes out there a special one!**_


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